Military Group Deploys Zero Trust Connectivity On Any Device, Any OS, Anywhere
How a Leading Contractor Embedded Secure Zero Trust Communication in Military Field Devices
Military groups needed secure communication between 5G handsets, reconnaissance drones, and databases, requiring session-level microsegmentation with specific session permissions.
Top 5 U.S. MilGov Contractor
Private 5G.MIL™ Communications
5G.MIL is a secure, 5G-enabled “network of networks” integrating military and commercial telecommunication infrastructures. It supports seamless, resilient communication across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains, enhancing interoperability between 5G, NextG, and DoD networks for effective military operations.
Obstacle
The primary obstacle for the military contractor was ensuring the secure and efficient transmission of highly sensitive mapping data captured by drones over a private 5G network, overcoming challenges posed by traditional VPN solutions in deployment, management, scalability, and access control granularity
Opportunity
The opportunity lay in leveraging NetFoundry’s Ziti’s Zero Trust architecture to provide secure, application-layer communications with fine-grained access control, seamlessly integrating with the private 5G network to protect data transmissions between drones, virtualized databases, and mobile devices used by ground troops.
Outcome
The integration of NetFoundry’s Ziti networking into the military contractor’s project ensured secure, real-time communication within the private 5G network, protecting sensitive mapping data from drones and enabling ground troops to efficiently access and interact with this information, thereby enhancing operational effectiveness and mission success.
Securing Drone Data
The primary obstacle faced by the military contractor was ensuring the secure and efficient transmission of highly sensitive mapping data captured by drones. This data needed to be transmitted over a private 5G wireless network to a cluster of virtualized databases. The challenges included:
- Traditional VPN Limitations:
- Cumbersome to deploy, manage, and scale.
- Insufficient granularity in access control.
- Dynamic and Mobile Nature of Ground Troops:
- Required a secure yet flexible means of accessing and interacting with data in real-time using mobile devices.
- Existing Security Measures:
- Inadequate to address the high stakes of potential data breaches, compromising mission success and troop safety.
This created an urgent need for a more robust, scalable, and fine-grained access control solution.
Applying Zero Trust
NetFoundry and the Ziti Platform presented a compelling solution to these challenges due to its Zero Trust architecture and open-source nature:
- Application Layer Security:
- Provides end-to-end encryption.
- Ensures only authenticated and authorized entities can access the data.
- Fine-Grained Access Control:
- Each ground troop can access only the data necessary for their specific role and mission.
- Flexibility and Scalability:
- Seamlessly integrates with the private 5G wireless network.
- Facilitates secure communication between drones, virtualized databases, and mobile devices.
- Protection Against Interception:
- Ensures data transmitted and received is protected against unauthorized access.
- Maintains confidentiality and integrity of mission-critical information.
Mission Accomplished
The integration of Netfoundry Ziti Platform into the military contractor’s project was a decisive success, ensuring secure communications across the private 5G wireless network:
- Zero Trust Architecture:
- Secured all communications from drones to ground troops’ mobile devices.
- Real-time encryption and authentication prevented unauthorized access and data breaches.
- Enhanced Operational Effectiveness:
- Enabled ground troops to securely and efficiently retrieve and interact with up-to-date mapping data.
- Improved situational awareness and operational effectiveness.
- Demonstrated Feasibility:
- Showcased the feasibility and effectiveness of using drones and private 5G technology for secure battlefield intelligence.
- Validated Technology:
- Positioned the military contractor as a leader in innovative and secure communication solutions for defense applications.
Lives depend on this solution.
Solution Overview: Embedded Zero Trust Communication in Military Field Devices
Achieve Secure 5G with NetFoundry
Session-Level Microsegmentation for Military Applications
Learn how Ziti enabled secure, session-specific communication for military applications,
ensuring robust security and operational efficiency.
